Whoever Brings the Night
by Apollymi
Summary: There was no eleventh hour rescue. The Pharaoh failed, and Zork brought darkness to the world. Now it is up to the tattered remnants of survivors to try to make things right again.
1. Prologue

**Whoever Brings the Night  
**by Apollymi

**Series:** Yu-Gi-Oh  
**Genre:** Post-apocalyptic, dark, horror  
**Pairings:** Bakura/Kaiba (eventually)  
**Word Count:** 343  
**Notes:** This is a teaser to a post-apocalyptic story that has been bothering me for a week, when I should be working on _Verdant_. There is a possibility this could be expanded into a full story/series as time permits.  
**Disclaimer:** All copyrights are held by their respective copyright holders, of which I am not one. I'm merely borrowing them briefly, and I'll return them in the same shape I borrowed them in... more or less. I do make claims to the story idea, as it has been eating at my brain when I should be working on the things to be published.  
**Comments/Critique:** _Welcome and encouraged  
_

* * *

The city burned.

On more days than he cared to count, one part or another of Domino City remained alight. The flames touched the sky, lighting it brighter than the streetlights once had. Some people even said they could probably be seen from space, but of course, space was the least of everyone's concern. Why worry about something so trivial when the reality was so much more immediate – and terrible?

It had been one year, one month, and ten days since hell descended onto Earth, making its landing somewhere in the arts area of Domino City, though reports were still a bit confused on the exact location of Ground Zero, so to speak. Very few people who were near the epicenter of the event survived. Of those who did, very few were accounted for. Of those, even fewer were willing to talk about what they had seen.

And for once, he couldn't find it in him to blame them. He was counted among the survivors, though to this day, he was still less than fond of that designation. After all, in his short life to date, so many labels had been applied to him: son, brother, orphan, boy genius, World's Champion, billionaire inventor… Survivor was just another one, albeit one he was less enthused about.

After all, everyone in the world wanted to know what had happened to bring a monster like Zork into the world. Was it an accident? Had someone caused it? Was there a way to reverse it? Were they now forever stuck with an Evil Overlord the likes of which the world had never before seen?

How could he tell them what he had seen? To this day, he still wasn't completely certain. There had been a mass hallucination of Ancient Egypt which may or may not have been a game between the so-called Pharaoh and some sort of Ancient Evil, presumably Zork, and apparently the Pharaoh had lost. There was no eleventh hour rescue this time, and the entire world was plunged into darkness.

Except for the fire.

* * *

21 April 2008

This is the story I almost didn't write. I almost shelved it in order to concentrate on editing _Amaranth: The Preterhumans Book 1_ and work on _Verdant: The Preterhumans Book 2_. I decided to give it a shot on you guys, though. Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 1

**Whoever Brings the Night  
**by Apollymi

**Series:** Yu-Gi-Oh  
**Genre:** Post-apocalyptic, dark, horror  
**Pairings:** Bakura/Kaiba (eventually)  
**Word Count:** 494  
**Notes:** This is a teaser to a post-apocalyptic story that has been bothering me for a week, when I should be working on _Verdant_. There is a possibility this could be expanded into a full story/series as time permits.  
**Disclaimer:** All copyrights are held by their respective copyright holders, of which I am not one. I'm merely borrowing them briefly, and I'll return them in the same shape I borrowed them in... more or less. I do make claims to the story idea, as it has been eating at my brain when I should be working on the things to be published.  
**Comments/Critique:** _Welcome and encouraged  
_

* * *

He wasn't sure if it was day or night out there.

The days were just as dark as the nights most of the time, and if it was bright enough outside for several blocks of the city to be seen, then it was bright enough to stay inside. Everyone knew if you could see, you could also be seen – and if you could be seen, you could and would become the hunted, either by Zork itself or the marauders many of the other citizens of the city had become in order to thrive in this strange world.

At least the electricity was still on throughout the city itself, even if it had been cut off in the outlying and now mostly abandoned areas. Of course, no one with more than half a brain cut on the lights in any part of any building that could be seen from outside. That was just like inviting marauders to come in.

And to imagine, he, Kaiba Seto, lived in such a world as this. Years ago, when his stepfather died, he had said that he never again would live in fear. He supposed this was why there was that admonishment of "never say never"; it was certainly coming back to haunt. He had sworn he wouldn't live in fear; now he would have to be stupid not to be afraid – and if there was anything Kaiba wasn't, it was stupid.

A few months ago, he had found out the hard way that the mansion was no longer safe, when marauders attacked it in force. A few of his guards had not survived, and indeed, he, Mokuba, and a few employees had only barely made it out. Now Kaiba Corp Tower was his last refuge; Kaiba Land had long since been commandeered as a refugee camp of a sort.

Even the lower levels of the Kaiba Corp building itself were beginning to find themselves filled with refugees, some of which he even vaguely recognized from classes or gaming tournaments. He, Mokuba, and the few surviving members of his staff occupied the upper levels, with the two Kaibas being the sole occupants of the topmost floor, but the other levels were filling and fast. More perplexing, many of them claimed to have been rescued from what sounded like hell itself by some mysterious figure they only knew as Wraith.

The more he tried to find out about Wraith, the more close-lipped everyone became on the subject. It was almost like the person was his namesake and just didn't exist. Who would send refugees to him, after all? It would have to be someone who knew him, knew he wouldn't turn these people away. Most everyone who knew him even that well was accounted for, though, and those who weren't accounted for...

Well, they were probably over a year dead. If they weren't dead, then based on the stories he had been here, they were probably wishing that they were.

* * *

25 April 2008

I guess this one is going to be short sections as I get a chance to scribble on it. Many apologies: I usually hate doing short sections, but I would rather update with them at frequent intervals than with longer sections every few months.

Why the long delays (even long for me)? I got a publishing contract! My first novel, _Amaranth_, will be coming out in December. In the meanwhile, I'm working on editing it for publication, as well as completing the second book in _The Preterhumans_ series, _Verdant_.


	3. Chapter 2

**Whoever Brings the Night**  
by Apollymi

**Series:** Yu-Gi-Oh  
**Genre:** Post-apocalyptic, dark, horror  
**Pairings:** Bakura/Kaiba (eventually)  
**Word Count:** 428  
**Notes:** This is a teaser to a post-apocalyptic story that has been bothering me for a week, when I should be working on _Verdant_. There is a possibility this could be expanded into a full story/series as time permits.  
**Disclaimer:** All copyrights are held by their respective copyright holders, of which I am not one. I'm merely borrowing them briefly, and I'll return them in the same shape I borrowed them in... more or less. I do make claims to the story idea, as it has been eating at my brain when I should be working on the things to be published.  
**Comments/Critique:** _Welcome and encouraged_

* * *

"Who is Wraith?" he demanded of the young woman before him.

Of all the so-called Ground Zero survivors and their families, she was the first he had seen face-to-face since just after that first horrible night, the night that first Domino City, then Japan, then the world came to realize what kind of trouble they were in.

She leveled a steady glare at him, similar if not better than ones her brother had turned on him over a year ago. "Kaiba-san, it would be better to say 'who _are_ Wraith'."

Subtle grammatical difference, yes, but this time it made a huge difference in meaning. "Wraith is more than one person then. Good to know."

Yet everyone who had been sent to him by Wraith had given him nearly identical, if completely vague, descriptions of Wraith. Brothers, perhaps? But he didn't know any set of brothers who fit the general qualifications he knew of: nearly identical appearance, able to operate in complete stealth, and knew him well enough to send all these people here.

"Wraith is two people," Kawai Shizuka confirmed. "I only met one of them though." She frowned, and the expression struck his tired mind as being between cute and her loser brother's scowls when he was one-upped. "I'm surprised you haven't figured out who they are yet, Kaiba-san."

It would be wrong to turn the best glare in his rather prestigious arsenal loose on a mere slip of a girl, no matter if all those annoying behaviors apparently had managed to run in her family, so he settled for his third worst one. "In case it escaped your notice, I happen to spend much of my time keeping the people here and at Kaibaland alive. I don't have time to hunt down clues throughout the city."

She frowned, apparently liking being one-upped just as much as her brother, but there was no arguing that particular known fact. The earth was dying, everything was going to hell in short order, and Kaiba Seto was the only thing holding parts of the city together.

"Like I said, I only met half of Wraith, but…" She trailed off, glancing nervously around his office, as if someone might be skulking in a corner listening in obscurity, waiting for the name.

Impatiently, he gestured her to come closer, rising to his feet and leaning towards her over his desk. "Who is Wraith?" he repeated.

She leaned close enough that he could feel her breath on his skin. When she said the name, it was barely louder than a breath: "Bakura Ryou."

* * *

14 May 2008

Apparently the updates here will continue to be sporadic at best. Between two jobs and waiting to do the editing on the book, my time has been utterly swamped. This actually got written during a bout of insomnia last night around 2 a.m. Don't you just love nights like that?

Tucked away in my flash drive, I have three novellas that I started on a few years ago and always meant to finish: "The Haunting" (which is currently sitting at about 3500 words and maybe 10 done), "Third Chance" (which is pending a rewrite, but is currently about 2900 words), and the long awaited "Vidi" (which still needs to be completed, but is currently about 3300 words). I'm still planning on finishing all of them, along with "Automatic Paranoia", from the _Endless Loop_ series. Speaking of _Endless Loop_, the series is not abandoned. It will, however, be taking a new direction upon its continuance. _Route 666_ and _Panic Attack_ will complete Season One, and Season Two will begin with _Virtual Insanity_. More updates on what's going on will be in these author's notes as stories progress.

Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me!

Apollymi


	4. Chapter 3

**Whoever Brings the Night**  
by Apollymi

**Series:** Yu-Gi-Oh  
**Genre:** Post-apocalyptic, dark, horror  
**Pairings:** Bakura/Kaiba (eventually)  
**Word Count:** 455  
**Disclaimer:** All copyrights are held by their respective copyright holders, of which I am not one. I'm merely borrowing them briefly, and I'll return them in the same shape I borrowed them in... more or less. I do make claims to the story idea, as it has been eating at my brain when I should be working on the thingsto be published.  
**Comments/Critique:** _Welcome and encouraged_

* * *

So Wraith was Bakura Ryou? Who would have ever thought the shy, reserving boy from his classes would be the one person in the city brave enough to liberate others from Zork itself?

Maybe it was true, after all: the multitudes of talk that had circulated about the Others. He had marginally come to accept that there was a second Yuugi. Much of that was because it was either believe in two Yuugis or believe that Yuugi suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder. Somehow the theory that there were two versions of Yuugi made a lot more sense.

If he could accept that there were two versions of Yuugi, then he should be able to accept that there had somehow been a second Bakura. That would be the one he had caught glimpses of on the Duel Ship, that he had heard about after Duel Kingdom. Of course, that Bakura had sounded like a psychopath. That made it doubly amazing to even begin to think that the loser's sister was right and Bakura Ryou was Wraith.

If she was right, there was a strong possibility that some of the people who were standing at ground zero were still around. So many of them that he knew were yet alive had disappeared without a trace: Yuugi, the loser, the dancer girl, to name just a few. Chances were good that they were in hiding, since it would be the intelligent thing to do. He found it a little odd to think that he had heard nothing from any of them in all this time.

But then, he had assumed that Bakura Ryou had died in the fiery explosion of Zork awaking in the modern world. Yet now he was hearing that, not only was he still alive, he was half of Wraith.

That, of course, begged the question of who the other half of Wraith could be. He didn't know of anyone who looked like Bakura, since the other teen looked rather… distinctive.

There was one possibility of who the other half of Wraith could be, but that was a option he wasn't sure he wanted to think of too strongly yet. Believing in the so-called Others was one thing. The prospect of one of them operating in the streets of Domino, where few other people dared to be seen for fear of losing their lives, was a bit beyond what he was certain he could handle right now.

Nonetheless, there was every chance that he might have to become ameliorated to the concept. After all, lately, the most fantastic option of all possibilities was the one that tended to come true.

That settled it. Somehow, he had to find Wraith and find out.

* * *

**28 September 2008**

Sorry for the long delay. It's terrible that something so short took me so long. It has been one thing after the other, from my laptop dying to moving to several rounds of edits on the novel. On the upshot, though, I have finished all but one round of edits to _Amaranth_ and I have finished the second book, _Verdant_, so for a little bit, I can concentrate on having fun... which means fanficcing.

Seriously, I wonder if people know how much _work_ goes into getting published. Aside from the nerve-wracking time where you are trying to get a publisher, there's several rounds of edits, first with an editor then several copy editors. There's applying for your copyright, which is a hassle to say the least. But it's all going to be worth it to see it in print.

Next on my fanficcing list is either finishing up _Automatic Paranoia_ or working on another Bakura/Kaiba story I started nearly a year ago. Unfortunately, my time is just limited enough to keep me from doing all that I want to do.

Hopefully, it won't be as long for the next chapter as it was for this one.

Apollymi


	5. Chapter 4

**Whoever Brings the Night**  
by Apollymi

**Series:** Yu-Gi-Oh  
**Genre:** Post-apocalyptic, dark, horror  
**Pairings:** Bakura/Kaiba (eventually)  
**Word Count:** 660  
**Disclaimer:** All copyrights are held by their respective copyright holders, of which I am not one. I'm merely borrowing them briefly, and I'll return them in the same shape I borrowed them in... more or less. I do make claims to the story idea, as it has been eating at my brain when I should be working on the thingsto be published.  
**Comments/Critique:** _Welcome and encouraged_

* * *

Honestly, he had expected finding Wraith would be a good deal harder than it had been, even for someone like him. That he had found Bakura Ryou in just under a fortnight almost disappointed him. How had the boy hidden from him this long if he was this easy to locate? Granted, now he knew just who at least half of Wraith was, so that might have helped a bit.

That this was the first time he had left the Kaiba Corp building in over two months might have also had something to do with it.

It had been over thirteen months since he had seeen his former classmate and fellow duelist. The time since Zork arose had been kind to no one, and Bakura Ryou was no exception: he seemed haggard, yet buzzing with nervous energy; like everyone else in Domino, he was far from well nourished, but he wasn't anything like the scarecrows that he had sent on to Kaiba Corp and Kaiba Land; and there was a wariness in his eyes that hadn't been there before, not even during the strange duels on top of his Battle Ship.

To his surprise, Bakura Ryou spoke first, his voice little more than a harsh whisper. "So now you've found me. What was it you wanted from me?"

With half of Wraith before him, there were a million and a half questions he wanted to ask; with Bakura Ryou in front of him, there were twice again as many bubbling through his mind. The first one that came out, though, was none of the ones he'd intended to ever ask. "Are any of the others still around?"

Slowly, the white-haired man shook his head. "Kawai Shizuka was the first we've found in over a year, and she wasn't even actually _there_. I've heard rumors of Honda and Otogi being out by the docks, but I haven't been able to confirm any of that. As for the others, from what I hear, Zork still has them captive in his fortress."

"The museum," he finished. In a way, it made sense: why kill your enemies, the only ones who stood a chance of defeating you, when you could just as easily hold them hostage and do whatever you wanted with them in revenge?

The other man nodded once solemnly. "I _know_ that that is definitely where Mutou Yuugi and the Nameless Pharaoh are being held."

"So they are still alive." He hadn't really meant for that to come out either, but nonetheless, there it stood. No, there was something else he needed to ask, something much more important. "Have you heard of any way of destroying Zork?"

"If I had, we would have done something by now," Bakura Ryou stated plainly as if it were just a simple fact. And there was that 'we' again. Curiosity was driving him crazy, as to who was the other half of Wraith, but he couldn't ask, not now, not while the other was still spewaking. "If anyone knows, it would be the Nameless Pharaoh or maybe, just maybe, Yuugi."

"Of course." Wasn't that always how it went: things always came down to Mutou Yuugi and everyone else was left with the clean-up? Perhaps it was a bit bitter, but he earned it.

He turned to start to leave, the other questions still unasked, when the white-haired man's voice cut through his thoughts. "If you're planning on taking Zork down, we'll help you in any way that we can."

It was as good an opening as any. "You and who else?"

The other laughed suddenly, the sound like razor blades and broken glass. "You already know him. He'll find you as soon as he's ready to start." He paused, completely silent as if listening to someone else speak in the utter quiet. "He'll meet you at Kaiba Corp tonight at midnight, on the roof. Oh, and Kaiba? Don't be late. Wraith can't afford to wait for anyone, even you."

* * *

**04 January 2009**

I'm really so sorry at how long it has been taking me to get these chapters out; it's embarrassing when they are all so short that it is taking me forever. Obviously, the novels are keeping me busy, but there is also the full-time job and the complete revamp of my main website, , that had to happen before I went nuts. With that behind me, work, the novels, and school will be my only distractions: I'm taking grad classes starting this week.

I should be getting started on my next fan fiction project soon. It will probably either be the next chapter of _Belladonna_ or the next part of **Endless Loop**: _Route 666_. Trust me: I would never leave you guys with where that story is as an ending. We haven't even finished Season One of **Endless Loop** yet.

I did also want to give a big shout-out to dragonlady222. Thank you, sweetie, for being one of my best reviewers ever -- and for pre-ordering the books. You're so completely awesome! Many thanks!

Much love to all,  
Apollymi


	6. Chapter 5

**Whoever Brings the Night**  
by Apollymi

**Series:** Yu-Gi-Oh  
**Genre:** Post-apocalyptic, dark, horror  
**Pairings:** Bakura/Kaiba (eventually)  
**Word Count:** 1,150  
**Disclaimer:** All copyrights are held by their respective copyright holders, of which I am not one. I'm merely borrowing them briefly, and I'll return them in the same shape I borrowed them in... more or less. I do make claims to the story idea, as it has been eating at my brain when I should be working on the thingsto be published.  
**Comments/Critique:** _Welcome and encouraged_

* * *

The wind on the roof was fierce, he decided to himself. He didn't allow himself to shiver or pull his coat closer around himself, though. There were people here in this very city who currently had it so much worse, despite all his efforts, so he was not going to let himself complain.

It had to be close to midnight by now, though. Didn't it? It was enough of a risk being up here like this when none of the people below -- not even Mokuba -- knew where he was. He wasn't going to compound the danger by trying to find a way to check the time in the nearly complete darkness.

No, as best he could figure, if it wasn't midnight already, it would be soon. So where was the other half of Wraith?

Strangely, this brought back memories of another rooftop meeting. It seemed like centuries ago now that he had met a version of Bakura Ryou on this very roof in a duel for Mokuba. Now, though, there was only him standing here in this foolishly vulnerable position, waiting for a person that he didn't know, that might not even exist.

If this was Bakura Ryou's idea of a joke or a prank, it was in terrible taste, and if it was... Well, he'd just have to track the other man down again and give him a piece of his mind.

He huffed almost silently to himself -- and was immediately startled by a low chuckle from only a few meters behind him. He whirled, sharp eyes searching the darkness. There, in the deepest part of the shadows, stood a figure that he could almost make out. Broad shoulders and chest, hair about as long as Mokuba's, nearly as tall as he was... That was about all he could make out.

"Who's there?" He was a bit pleased with the fact his voice was so steady. He hadn't sounded like he'd just been given the scare of his life. Instead, he had sounded more like he was in a boring conference or meeting.

"Now that hurts." It sounded like... But it couldn't be... "And here I was thinking our little duel up here might have made an impression. My mistake." But apparently, it was.

"How?" he managed to force out, cutting off whatever else the other man was going to say.

He caught a distinct impression of a shrug. "Zork didn't exactly need me once it was in this world. Apparently, torturing the Pharaoh and ruling the world were a bit more important. Besides, does it really matter? _Yadonushi_ said you wanted to see me."

He took a quick deep breath and released it slowly. Hopefully... "How can Zork be destroyed?"

Annoyingly enough, the other man shrugged nonchalantly again. "I'd imagine that's more the Pharaoh's gig." He laughed darkly. "If he's still sane at this point. Zork's been having a lot of fun with him this last year."

The odd aside made him frown. "How do you know?" No one had been into Zork's stronghold, not and come out alive. A few had returned in pieces, their heads probably still on display in the windows of what had once been the Domino museum. He hadn't been close enough to check in months.

"I've been in there."

He suddenly found himself struggling not to choke on nothing more than air. "What?" Over a year's habit was the only thing that held his voice at a level below yelling.

"Once when _yadonushi_ and I left. I've been back twice since, getting other people out."

For a long moment, he was stunned absolutely speechless. That _had_ to top the list of suicidal things he had ever heard of people doing. "Are you out of your mind?!"

Perhaps he'd ruffled the other almost as much as he himself had been. The silence stretched on -- then darkly amused laughter cut through it like a knife. "That's the popular theory," he finally stated, amusement heavily coating the words.

He refused to let himself take offense -- or at least not too much. "Glad to have been so amusing." Slightly annoyed and somewhat put out,on the other hand, were quite acceptable.

The other man finally stepped into the almost nonexistent light, still chuckling under his breath. "Damn, I can't remember the last time I laughed like that." He took a deep breath and sobered. "Why did you need me? _Yadonushi_ could have told you any of this." He paused and frowned. "He _did_ tell you some of this."

It was no wonder people thought Wraith was only one person. He and Bakura Ryou looked almost exactly alike, with a few small differences. His hair was a bit shorter than Ryou's, and he looked as though he'd been bulking up over the last year, compared to Ryou's much more slim body. He was certainly taller, and his eyes... Well, he wasn't too sure if he would call that color light blue or silver; it was only in this light that he could almost make out the shade, so he doubted anyone on the streets below would see them. Other than that, though, they could have been identical.

But this was just putting off responding, wasn't it?

"If finding Yuugi or... the other Yuugi--" and he was _not_ going to say a word about the smirk on the other man's face at that "-- is the only way to get rid of Zork, then it has to be done."

"And I suppose you have some grand plan for how to do this?" Oddly, the white-haired man didn't sound as derisive as his words would have indicated, but instead he seemed merely curious. "Because I'm open to suggestions."

Damn... "Not a _plan_ as such, but... If you can get in there--"

"I'm not risking my neck for the fucking Pharaoh." That was a little bit more vehement than he strictly would have liked to have heard. In fact, that sounded like the kind of 'no' that there was no budging from. But then the other frowned thoughtfully, crossing his arms over his chest. "Not unless there's something in it for me."

"Aside from a world without that thing?" he demanded incredulously.

Unbelievably, the other smirked and nodded. "Yeah, besides that. That's not enough to have to put up with the Pharaoh again."

What the hell? He seriously did _not_ like where this was heading at all. "I can pay you."

"And money isn't worth the money it's printed on right now." If it was possible, the smug expression grew as light-colored eyes slowly swept down his body and back up to lock onto his own blue eyes. "I'm sure we can work something out, though."

"Not happening." He matched that smirk with the coldest, hardest glare in his considerable arsenal.

"We'll see," the other, darker Bakura intoned quietly, almost to himself. "We'll see."

* * *

**03 February 2009**

Now this was much better: just under a month. This section is also substantially larger than the others -- and I actually had to force it to end there! It wanted to go a bit more.

On the writing front, I've posted a teaser for _Route 666_, the fifth book in the **Endless Loop** universe. That rounds the fan fictions I'm working on now to three (this, _Route 666_, and _Belladonna_, for some writing that isn't Yu-Gi-Oh), along with the ones I'm doing a little here and there on. _Amaranth: The Preterhumans Book 1_ is currently on the front page of my publisher's, Cacoethes Publishing, website, so that's some nice hype.

Much love to all,  
Apollymi


	7. Chapter 6

**Whoever Brings the Night**  
by Apollymi

**Series:** Yu-Gi-Oh  
**Genre:** Post-apocalyptic, dark, horror  
**Pairings:** Bakura/Kaiba (eventually)  
**Word Count:** 492  
**Disclaimer:** All copyrights are held by their respective copyright holders, of which I am not one. I'm merely borrowing them briefly, and I'll return them in the same shape I borrowed them in... more or less. I do make claims to the story idea, as it has been eating at my brain when I should be working on the things to be published.  
**Comments/Critique:** _Welcome and encouraged

* * *

_

Mokuba had vehemently objected to his plan, loudly and repeatedly in fact. The words "suicidal", "reckless", and "stupid" came up more than once, in point of fact.

At least, that was before Bakura had stepped out of the shadows somewhere behind him. Then the volume had only gotten louder, and the words had switched to some that he was definitely positive his little brother should not yet know.

All the noise seemed to be attracting quite a crowd from the lower levels, including Kawai Shizuka. She brushed past him and his double armload of squirming and kicking Mokuba and right up to Bakura. With a whole lot more reverence than she'd ever shown him, she asked softly, "Has there been any sign of my brother?"

The white-haired man shook his head slightly. "Nothing. He's still inside the museum. Last I heard, as of two weeks ago, he was still alive."

"It's better than nothing, I guess," she responded quietly.

To himself, he had to wonder about that: if any of the people still alive in the museum were better off alive or dead. Not after what little Bakura had told him on the roof just a few moments ago about what was likely happening to the other Yuugi in there -- and he had a weird feeling that the white-haired man was holding back on any details he might know. He didn't think that bothered him; he was probably better off not knowing, not yet at least.

Now that Mokuba was beginning to slow and maybe even stop struggling, he could actually examine the growing crowd's reaction to Bakura's presence. There was surprise and something very much like awe on more than a few faces in their midst. They were looking at Bakura like he was some sort of savior. A lot of these people had been delivered here by one part of Wraith or the other, though, so it was probably a valid assumption. To them, that was what the white-haired man was. That was all they knew about him.

And maybe that was all they needed to know, all of them needed to know. If he was reading between the lines correctly with something Bakura had said earlier on the roof, then the white-haired man before him had been... possessed by Zork until it rose and took over. So if that theory was in any way true, how many of the things he remembered Bakura doing a year ago had, in fact, Bakura actually done? How much had been Zork, and how much had been the thief?

Idle curiosity was not generally something he frequently indulged in, but this one time, he might make an exception. He might have to ask Bakura at some point when there wasn't a mob of people surrounding them both.

He was definitely going to have to go with Bakura now, irregardless of Mokuba's vehement objects, if only so that he could assuage some of the questions he now had.

* * *

**02 July 2009  
**  
Okay, well, I definitely flubbed the whole "updating quickly" thing. My only excuse is that I've been very busy with the writing that should get me paid. I hate using "should" there, but...

Book 1 of _The Preterhumans_ -- _Amaranth --_ is out on Amazon. It had decent sales in March and April, but it seems to be slacking off now. I think it's currently on sale right now, maybe a couple dollars off. Better than nothing, right? I'm still waiting on edits for the second book, _Verdant_, and while the third book is finished, I'm holding off till I see what happens with the first two. For JulNoWriMo this year, I'm starting a new series though, something I can pitch to other publishers instead of being stuck where I am.

I'm still working on _Endless Loop 5: Route 666_ and _Belladonna_ on the fanfiction front. Don't write me off as abandoning fandom yet!

Finally, thanks to Velgamidragon for prodding me into finishing up this chapter. See? Comments help!

Thanks,  
Apollymi/Katherine


	8. Chapter 7

**Whoever Brings the Night**  
by Apollymi

**Series:** Yu-Gi-Oh  
**Genre:** Post-apocalyptic, dark, horror  
**Pairings:** Bakura/Kaiba (eventually)  
**Word Count:** 693  
**Disclaimer:** All copyrights are held by their respective copyright holders, of which I am not one. I'm merely borrowing them briefly, and I'll return them in the same shape I borrowed them in... more or less. I do make claims to the story idea, as it has been eating at my brain when I should be working on the things to be published.  
**Comments/Critique:** _Welcome and encouraged

* * *

_

"Your little brother has a real hate-on for me, doesn't he?"

Bakura had barely spoken since they had left Kaiba Corp about half an hour ago. That this was his opening topic was actually a little surprising. Somehow it was so far from what he had expected that it wasn't even on the list.

"He hasn't forgiven you for kidnapping him," he eventually replied. It was the truth, after all. While always telling the complete and utter truth had never been his policy -- and in fact, had rarely served him well at all -- this much at least was honesty. "He holds grudges."

"So I see."

They crept along through near perfect darkness without a word exchanged between them. Looking around now, he was hard-pressed to make out a single landmark he recognized, aside from Kaiba Corp's tower fading into the background behind him. If he didn't know that this was Domino City, the town where he had spent the majority of his life, he would have thought he had wandered into some post-apocalyptic movie, one of those urban disaster flicks. The city had looked terrible from the high windows of Kaiba Corp since Zork took over, like the smoldering remains of a ghost town. Down here in it, though, it seemed less like that and instead more like a burning wasteland. How much of this was Zork's doing, and how much was due to the raiders that had sprung up in the chaos?

"What are you expecting to find when we get there?" Bakura did seem to have a real knack for asking odd but pertinent questions.

All the same, though... "How do you mean?"

For the first time since leaving Kaiba Corp, Bakura stopped moving, standing still in the shadow of a half-demolished building. "Exactly what it sounded like. What are you expecting to find in the museum?"

He paused as well, considering his words before he spoke. "I'm not certain. You say you've been inside. What should I be expecting to find?"

"Insanity, madness, death, horror, desolation... I could go on, but that's the general idea. The really lucky ones in there are already dead. Of those still alive, the best off are the ones who have gone insane. If the Pharaoh is still alive, there will be no guarantee he'll be sane enough to help you."

That sounded a good deal more bleak than he had been willing to entertain a notion of before now. "I suppose I'll just have to take my chances then, won't I?" He couldn't help it if it came out sounding sullen. Even after over a year of living in this hell, there were still apparently some things that could depress him.

"On the other hand, though, the Pharaoh does some of his best dirty work when he's out of his mind. _Yadonushi_ mentioned something once about him just loving to drive people mad before the little Pharaoh calmed him down." Bakura sounded like he was merely thinking aloud, but he wasn't placing any bets on that. He wasn't saying anything was set in stone around someone like Bakura, who was obviously at least little bit out of his own mind. "Come on." He cut his thoughts short to glance over and see the white-haired man sliding a large piece of sheet metal aside to reveal a rough doorway of sorts through the brick wall into the building they had been leaning against.

"What are you doing?" he demanded. Maybe his sense of direction was off, but he was pretty sure that they were nowhere near the museum yet.

"It'll be daylight soon," Bakura commented. The other man wasn't even waiting for him to catch up, so with an annoyed huff, he followed him inside. "I'm neither crazy enough nor stupid enough to try to sneak into that hellish place in the daytime. We'll head out once it's dark again."

So he was going to have to spend an entire day locked in here -- wherever 'here' was -- alone with _him_? Of course. Just, of course. This would be what he got for thinking that this was going to be the easy part.

* * *

**09 September 2009  
**  
9/9/09! It seemed an appropriate day to update this, yes?

So, first off, I'm sorry on how long it's taking between chapters. All I can really say is, I have been unbelievably busy lately and it has cut into my writing time. I'm about midway through a new book in a new series; I'm calling it _The Seekers_, a series title which is all Katsuko's fault... really. I've also been contemplating a new project, something a bit ambitious. And I want **_your_** opinion on it.

I know I have some _Endless Loop_ fans reading this story as well. If I were to rewrite EL as an original series, would you be interested in reading it? My plan is to do a pretty thorough rewrite, changing things that I didn't like and such, and then sell it as an e-book and maybe a print book through Lulu. That way, I can keep the cost lower on both you the readers and me the author. So the question is, if it was available, would you read it? Please, drop me an email at apollymi (at) gmail DOT com; tell me what you think!

I'm not going to make any promises this go-round for the next chapter. My next fan fiction priorities are _Belladonna_ and then _Route 666_. I do, however, want to have one more chapter of this out before November. Here's hoping, right?

Thanks,  
Apollymi/Katherine


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